Exit polls mean nothing at this point, so these exit numbers should be taken with a grain of salt. But…here they are.

From Political Wire:

CNN reports corruption was the number most important issue to voters who responded to exit surveys. Early Senate numbers (uncomfirmed and with caveats):

Democrats are leading in Rhode Island (+7), Virginia (+7), Pennsylvania (+15), Ohio (+14), New Jersey (+8), Montana (+9), Missouri (+2).

Republicans are leading in Tennessee (+4) and Arizona (+4).

Democratic Senate candidate Sheldon Whitehouse is leading his opponent Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) 45% to 40% in a new American Research Group poll.

Political Wire analysis:

Key findings: Whitehouse gains a slight edge because 72% of Democrats say they would vote for Whitehouse. Although 69% of likely voters have a favorable opinion of Chafee, compared to 51% for Whitehouse, over 80% of those saying they have a favorable opinion of Whitehouse say they would vote for Whitehouse, compared to 56% for Chafee. Democrats who like both candidates say they would vote for Whitehouse.

Also, a Rasmussen Reports poll released on September 18, 2006 shows Whitehouse leading Chafee by 8%.

As the DoubleSpeak minivan barrels up the coast, you should expect to hear from Sheldon Whitehouse on our show soon!

Greg Giroux from Congressional Quarterly wrote up a great primary day primer on Political Wire. I’m running around like a mad-man today, so in the interest of time, I tip my hat to the good people over at Political Wire and encourage everyone to check out their great analysis. DoubleSpeak will have election night coverage later this evening and into tomorrow morning. Stay tuned.

Primary Preview

Most of the remaining November matchups for governor, senator and U.S. House will be set Tuesday, when nine states will hold primary elections: Arizona, Delaware, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.

The marquee matchup is the Republican Senate primary in Rhode Island, where Sen. Lincoln Chafee, who frequently bucks GOP leaders, faces a stiff challenge from Cranston mayor Steve Laffey, who is more conservative. The National Republican Senatorial Committee is backing Chafee on the grounds that he is the only Republican who could possibly prevail this year in Rhode Island, which usually votes Democratic. Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse, a former Rhode Island Attorney General, is expected to easily win his party’s primary.

The other major Senate primary Tuesday is in Maryland, where Democrats have a large field of candidates in the race to succeed retiring five-term Democrat Paul S. Sarbanes. Rep. Ben Cardin and former Rep. Kweisi Mfume are the best-known Democrats, while Republicans are behind Lt. Gov. Michael Steele. In the contest for governor, Republican incumbent Bob Ehrlich and Democrat Martin O’Malley, the mayor of Baltimore, are unopposed in the primaries. In Cardin’s Democratic-leaning 3rd District, the crowded Democratic field includes state Sen. Paula Hollinger, former Baltimore health commissioner Peter Beilenson and lawyer John Sarbanes, who is the retiring senator’s son. In the 4th District, which is anchored in inner suburbs of Washington, D.C., Democratic Rep. Albert Wynn faces a primary challenge from lawyer Donna Edwards.

Read the rest here…

An often overlooked race in the Democratic Party’s battle to win back control of Congress, the Rhode Island Senate race continues to get more interesting. Rhode Island Secretary of State Matt Brown (D) dropped out of the race this April, leaving former Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse (D) as the presumptive nominee to battle Lincoln Chafee in the general election. While Chafee is considered a moderate in the GOP, Rhode Island is a decidedly blue state that seems poised to go bluer this cycle.

A new Brown University poll out today shows Whitehouse leading Chafee for the first time in the race. Via PW.

If the general election is held today, 38 percent say they will vote for Sheldon Whitehouse, 37 percent support Senator Chafee, and 25 percent are undecided (compared to Chafee’s lead of 40 to 34 percent in February).

If the Republican nominee is Mayor Laffey, Whitehouse is ahead by 55 to 25 percent (up from the 44 to 29 percent Whitehouse had in February).

This is an absolutely essential pickup for the Dems in ‘06 if we want to retake the Senate. You can help by volunteering or contributing.